Sig Christenson is a veteran military reporter who has made nine trips to the war zone. He writes regularly for Hearst about service members, veterans and heroes, among other topics. He is also the co-founder and former president of Military Reporters and Editors, founded in 2002.

311th Air Base Group

01/07/2013

The House Armed Services Committee will hold hearings later this month on a widening sex scandal among Air Force basic instructors and recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

One
source familiar with the process said Monday that the House Armed
Services Committee chairman, Rep. Howard “Buck” McKeon, would call
hearings on Jan. 23. A spokesman for McKeon, R-Calif., wouldn't confirm
the report but did not deny it, noting the committee announces its
hearings the week before they occur.

Advocates for military sexual
trauma victims and 78 lawmakers on Capitol Hill have demanded hearings
on Lackland since the scandal mushroomed last summer amid several Air
Force investigations.

So far, 30 instructors at the base, home to
Air Force basic training, have fallen under investigation for improper
relationships with 56 victims. Last week, Staff Sgt. Christopher Jackson,
29, became the sixth basic training instructor to be convicted of
sexual misconduct since April. He was given 100 days in jail, 30 days'
hard labor and busted to airman first class. A judge allowed him to
remain in the Air Force.

Ten others are headed to court, including Master Sgt. Jamey Crawford, who waived an evidentiary hearing that was to start today, said Brent Boller,
a spokesman for Joint Base San Antonio. He could get 22 years in prison
and a dishonorable discharge on allegations that include sodomy, giving
a false official statement and adultery.

In another case, a hearing begins today for Air Force Tech Sgt. Jaime Rodriguez, a Lake Jackson recruiter facing life on charges of rape and pursing illicit relationships with 18 women.

McKeon's spokesman, Claude Chafin,
said details for the congressional hearing were still being ironed out,
including how long it might run. He wouldn't say if any of the Lackland
victims would testify, only saying, “The witness list is still being
looked at.”